While discussions about the future of The United Methodist Church have taken a backseat amidst the coronavirus pandemic and postponement of General Conference, a new group has formed to call others to new conversations about that future. The group is called Out of Chaos ... Creation.
Led by an international leadership team, the group has released a vision statement called "Out of Chaos, Creation: Seeds of a Vision for a Renewed United Methodism." The statement, available in six languages, calls on fellow United Methodists to "join us in doing the following:
"Imagine how we might listen to the Spirit’s leading about a vision for a renewed and reimagined United Methodism grounded in the mission of God, identity, and core values.
"Engage in a collective conversation about how we might conference differently and prepare a strategy for General Conference 2021 that might reshape the culture of our conferencing.
"Bring examples of how we each might envision being the church and seeking intersectional justice in a post-corona world throughout the world and in our varying ministry contexts.
"Join us in webinars on July 7, 2020 for the beginning of this conversation."
The new initiative is worth exploring because of its international leadership, its novel approach to focus on conversation rather than another plan, the missional theological grounding of its vision statement, and because it represents the first significant new possibility for the future of United Methodism since the start of the pandemic.
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